Run (out of) The Business...

Finally the day has arrived when I am getting out of business. It’s time to say bye to Alliance Maintenance. Confused…?

It’s been almost 1.5 years since I am working for same client, doing almost same kind of work. Nothing seems to be changing; even the cubicle. People around me kept changing. Every time when I start feeling that I got good friends, they go out of project, or they quit. They either get a transfer or move out into some other project. People now recognize me as one of the oldest person in the project although I am just 24.

Few days’ back my fellow colleague came to my desk, saw me working hard to fix a UI related issue. Initially I didn’t notice him, but after a few minutes I turned around and saw him staring me with sympathy. He had seen me working hard on every issue that came up. We started chatting. After 10-15 min of general discussion about movies, weekend, Bangalore and other stuff, a question suddenly popped up… “Isn’t it boring to be in the same project doing same kind of work for more than a year? Don’t we need a change?”…
Interacting with other colleagues, I found out that it was not ‘only me’ who was fed-up with the application, everybody was. Everybody had complaints. I could see few of them complaining about the application code being vast. Every time they tried to dig into the code for a new change request, it seemed to be totally new application. I didn’t feel they were telling something new coz I have been playing with this code for past 2 years and believe me I have just covered 75% of it.
During coffee break at around 11 AM, I usually read news paper with coffee. I took a magazine instead. I was turning pages coz there wasn’t anything interesting. I kept on turning pages, and suddenly I stopped at the astrology section. For my sun sign, it said “This is an excellent time to make a change which will benefit your career, getting together with colleagues, or getting to know your superiors on a more personal, friendly basis is quite likely at this time.” That sounds positive; I wished something similar to happen today!!
It was 4 PM and my Manager came to my desk and asked if we can talk for few minutes. I thought it might be related to some new process being introduced in project and he wanted me to take it up. We went to a meeting room and the conversation started. There were few general questions about my health, work and other general stuff. The conversation went on for some time. Now it was time to get to the point. He asked me if I was interested to move into another project which is supposed to start in a week or so. It is supposed to be a one man at offshore handling everything and my manager will be at onsite. Suddenly I remembered the magazine stuff. The predictions were correct. And main thing, I am getting out of the project.

Yippee…!!

Now it’s time to face some new challenges and this is the first time I am reporting to someone with whom I won’t be interacting Face to Face. Hope this turns out to be Lucky project for me in terms of growth, opportunities and career perspective.

Tears and Rain...

8 AM, Friday it isnt bright outside. I walk towards balcony and I see no Sun. The sky is covered with clouds. I said to myself, "It’s not going to be warm today, Hope it rains". It was getting late for office so I took shower and dressed up. Amit's mom had prepared nice Vermicelli sweet dish. I had some and came to office. I checked my mailbox and went to Food court to have breakfast. Unfortunately there was nothing left in Food court. Went to juice counter and had Apple milk shake. I came back to my desk and got busy with work and while I write this blog I am creating a transaction and waiting for server to respond. Grrrrrr.... What a Friday...!! /*Angry*/

Although Friday is supposed to be bright and happy-happy Day for everyone, it was a happy-sad day for me. Amit and Jude are traveling abroad today. Both were excited about onsite travel. After lunch at home, it was time to say bye to Amit and Jude.

We Wished them Happy and safe Journey... Saying Bye to both of them, tears rolled out of my eyes... :'(

I will miss them...!! :(

Dawn or Dusk...?

I get out of my bed, look around... where is Amit gone...? I Come out of my room, and I realize I can ask Suraj where is Amit's gone. I start moving towards Suraj's room, I open the door to find the room empty. Where is everybody gone..? I pick my cell, search for Suraj's number and try calling. "This number has been temporarily disconnected, please check the number you have dialed" is what I hear from the other side. Where is everybody gone...? Suddenly there is a knock at the door; I can hear someone trying to open the lock... A sigh of relief...? People are back...? Who might be at the door..? Lot of questions running in my mind... The door opens... Zombie enters the house, no expressions on its face removes his shoes and walks till his bed. Zombie Changes his clothes and goes to sleep. I get a bit scared. I get confused whether its dawn or dusk. Few minutes back I remember myself getting out of bed and now I see a Zombie enters my house and goes to bed. I open the window shutter in my room, to confirm that its morning. As I open the window shutter, light falls on my face and i try to run. The light rays get wrapped around me. As I try to run, something hits my head hard. "aaahhh, what is that". I see a big wall in front of my eyes. I try to move, but I am not able to... Suddenly someone sprinkles water droplets on my face. I try to look at the person but the bright light behind him stops me from doing that. I try harder and now I can see his face. Wait.... This is Amit... Where did he come from...? I look around to find myself wrapped in the blanket, bright light falling on my eyes thru the window. Then Amit says "Pappu... Uth ja saale... Office nahi jaana aaj...?"…

By the way, the Zombie character was played by my roomi “Samrat” :)

Pursuit of Happiness

"Chak de" has very diversified meaning. It is used to pick up something from down and said "Chak de", meaning "Lift up". So why not use these words in our life when we are feeling down or under depression? Why not say "Chak De" to mean "Lift up” your spirits".

It doesn't matter who you are or what you do there are times when you feel down and discouraged. These aren't times that you like but nevertheless you have them. The important thing here is that you learn how to not let feeling down control or dictate the outcome that you are working towards. Its tough to get out of this, but there are two possible options. Let the feeling haunt you; wait until that feeling goes off. I know this is tough but usually people prefer this option when they do not want to share their feelings. And the other option, don’t let the feeling stay; forget about what’s happening and say "Chak de"...!! :)

While emotional variety can spice up your life, hopefully you’ll agree that remaining stuck in a prolonged negative emotional state is something to be avoided. So if you find yourself in one of these states, what can you do to boost your motivation and keep it high?
To start with, surround yourself with people who are an encouragement to you. Notice I didn’t say to surround yourself with people who will encourage you. Although this can be a good thing for you, sometimes it’s not even necessary to have people encourage you. Talk to them, not necessarily about the reason why you are feeling down, but it can be as simple as saying a Hi or Hello. Start a conversation, talk about the good times spent with them, crack a few jokes (PJ's in my case), also you can do some leg pulling... :) If you are comfortable with that person, ask them for an advice. Now, doesn’t that sound interesting? Don’t you think this will bring a smile on your face? Out of my experience, this is the best thing you can do to change your mood.
There were times when I used to feel down when something goes against me or doesn’t happen my way. It used to be difficult to get out of such feeling. So, it’s always better to get a proper perspective. A lot of the times, the reason we are feeling down isn’t really a valid reason. Sometimes what you need to do is step back and get a proper perspective on the situation. Your mind can be your worst enemy sometimes. Instead of letting your thoughts take control and warp your perceptions, use your mind to see the truth. Most of the time you will see that it’s not as big a deal as you originally thought it was.
If you are feeling down because you keep failing in life, try going to volunteer at a physical rehabilitation location. Oops, this one sounds a bit weird, but trust me; it works. It won’t take long to see people with bigger problems then you working hard to succeed. Just being around these people could be all the encouragement you need. If you start comparing them with yourself, you will have 1000 reasons to be happy.

We don’t have a problem remembering our failures. It’s easy to remember when we screw up or embarrass ourselves or let someone down. But how often do we remember the good things we’ve accomplished. How often do we remember when we’ve helped someone or accomplished a goal or made someone’s day that much easier. The usual answer is we don’t take the time to remember those days when everything goes right. We tend to focus way too much on our screw ups. Put yourself in a state where you feel positive and generate positive results; don’t overstrain yourself to the point where you’re feeling great about mediocre results. "The pursuit of happiness is a most ridiculous phrase; if you pursue happiness you'll never find it."